


Rumble

by IndieFoxProductions



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Creature Fic, Eventual Smut, F!Byleth, F/F, Modern Era, No beta I'm posting with the amount of brain cells I have left, Tags will be updated as needed, mentions of drinking, this is not a crack fic officer i swear, vampire!Byleth, werewolf!black eagles, werewolf!edelgard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28731372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndieFoxProductions/pseuds/IndieFoxProductions
Summary: Edelgard meets an awkward individual on the night of her birthday and proceeds to have a gay panic involving a plate of nachos. Who is this mysterious woman, and why does Edelgard think she's a nun?ORJust a found family of werewolves and other assorted cryptids having fun, being gay and doing crime. This is really just a impulsive fic I'm writing so Edelgard can have the (mostly) carefree life she deserves, dammit!
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 8
Kudos: 50





	1. Your Blue Eyes Cry Mapwater

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for clicking on my seemingly crazy story, I swear I have a plan for where this is going, promise! The idea for this came after I thought about writing a Vampire!Edelgard fic, but that seemed too obvious to me; of course Edelgard would make the perfect vampire, she already dresses for the part! Then the need to see a tiny, 5'2 werewolf with her taller, and somewhat socially awkward vampire girlfriend smacked me upside the head and this story was born. Leave me a review if you like, tell me what you think I did wrong and if you see any typos!

Blackthorn bar in the small city of Remire was a known hotspot for the local cryptid scene in Adrestia, serving everyone from goblin to mountain troll, and even vampire or werewolf so long as they could pay their tabs at the end of the night. The outside of the building was nondescript, a sandy white color and blacked out windows with matching terracotta tiles lining the roof, matching the same general color scheme of the other businesses besides it, leaving only the name in black cursive above the door as a hint at what lay inside.

Closed during the day, the bar opened as the sun began to set, attracting those who wandered the streets at night. The ground floor felt almost cramped in layout, the bar was long and took up a great deal of space on one side of the room, the expansive menu board hung just overhead on the back wall, the nightly specials and house drinks spelled out in shimmering chalk. Small, knee height tables were scattered across the rest of the room, each surrounded by a series of comfortable chairs and couches.

The walls were lined with a deep green wallpaper, almost reminiscent of the Victorian Age with its curving floral design, vintage looking photographs and mirrors dotted the landscape and gave the space a witchy vibe; during the Halloween months, plastic cats and crows would be placed on any available space, much to the delight of any visiting Covens. A large ornate looking bookcase stood against the wall closest to the bar, the entrance to the underground portion of the building only accessible should one pull at a specific book on the case.

A series of steps encouraged patrons forward and down, the heightening sound of EDM and techno grew louder the further one went. Once inside, those willing to venture this far were greeted to a larger bar space than the one they’d just left.

Several bartenders worked as a team down here, the bar itself stretching the length of one wall alone, each of them knowledgeable in different kinds of drinks that their more specialized guests could inquire about during their time there. More tables of various sizes lined the walls again, some intended for standing guests and others more suited for those who’d prefer to sit and enjoy themselves amongst friends. The middle space was devoted to a dance floor, it’s polished surface ready each night that the bar was open.

The place was already hopping this night, the sun long since set as the weekend began in earnest. A handful of guests tended to stay upstairs, preferring the warmer atmosphere to the almost rave scene below, while several different groups of people were already on their second wind of the night beneath their feet.

Lights flashed in time to the beat of the music, different colors slashing against the walls and painting everyone in their hue for a split second before dancing away. The Black Eagles Pack stood crowded around one of the taller tables, its surface littered with empty and half empty glasses, of spilled or half eaten appetizers that the group shared as a collective.

Shot glasses slammed back down on the table, the sound lost amongst the booming music around them.

“Happy birthday, Edelgard!” Caspar shouted, his face flushed from the effects of the alcohol they’d all been drinking, slapping his pack leader on the back good naturedly.

“Yes! Happiest of births to you!” Petra agreed from her spot besides Dorothea, the couple leaning against each other.

Edelgard ducked her head down for a second, a blush creeping up on her cheeks as she rolled her empty shot glass between her palms. Happiness welled up in her chest as the other members of the Black Eagles also voiced their well wishes to their leader.

“Thanks everyone, I appreciate it.” Edelgard said, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.

 _At least they didn’t sing this time, who knows how many other wolves here would join them?_ The white haired girl thought with a sigh, they’d only just been let back into the place after their last suspension because of a bar fight, the last thing they needed was to wreck the vibes for everyone else tonight.

“Don’t sweat it, Edelgard.” Ferdinand laughed from her side, already turned back towards the bar. “I’m getting the next round, another O+ for you, Hubert?”

“Why don’t I help you carry those?” Hubert called out at the retreating form of his boyfriend, his lanky body easily slipping between the dancing bodies around them.

Absently stretching a hand forward, Edelgard pulled an almost too soggy chip from the plate of nachos on the table, the weight of the dip almost bending the chip itself in half as it was lifted aloft. Popping the treat into her mouth, Edelgard turned lilac colored eyes across the faces of those in attendance.

Dorothea seemed to have said something that made Petra and Caspar laugh, the two holding their sides as the siren’s voice dropped a couple octaves to impersonate someone else before returning back to her normal voice. Besides them, Bernadetta braided small locks of Linhardt’s green hair as the man dipped his head forward sleepidly from where it rested on his fist, propped up in what free space he could find on the table.

Spying the two other members of the pack still at the bar, Edelgard, satisfied that everyone present was happy and content in this space, allowed herself another soggy chip as she looked out onto the dance floor and other surrounding tables.

The Blackthorn seemed to be full for it just being a Friday night, but with finals just weeks away for many of the university students present it made sense that the students would rather relax with a good time than let the stress of studying bring them down just yet. Nearly every form of creature seemed to be enjoying the party: a coven of witches appeared to be joking and laughing amongst themselves, their familiars perched on their shoulders or curled up in warm laps. Several fauns danced around each other, the clicking of their hooves barely audible over the beat of the loud music that filled the air.

A smattering of humans also seemed to be in attendance, Edelgard noticed with a slight furrow of her brow. While not strictly limited to only those of creature blood or relation, most humans tended to stay away from places like these due to misconceptions gathered from fiction or historic instances brought about by wars long fought by their ancestors. Brushing it off with a shrug, the white haired werewolf thought nothing more on the matter as she returned her gaze to the now empty plate of nachos before her. The humans had never been a bother to her before, anyways.

Hubert and Ferdinand returned in that moment, both carrying a shot glass of something that smelled stronger than what they’d all had so far this night. Cheers ring out around the table as everyone reached forward, careful not to spill too much in their eagerness, even Linhardt seemingly woke up at the sudden commotion around him.

“I’d like to make a toast this time,” Edelgard announced, holding her glass high. “To new adventures in our lives, passing grades this semester, and another fabulous full moon this month!”

The rest of the Eagles raised their glasses in agreement, knocking them together for a second before shooting back the alcohol without a second thought. Just a second slower than the others, Edelgard stood poised with the cool glass against her lips, enjoying the rush of excitement that ran through her body in that moment.

Shooting it back with a slight gasp at the burn in her throat, Edelgard closed her eyes for a split second before breaking into a laugh. “ _Jesus Christ_ , what was that?”

“It felt like my throat was on fire for a second.” Dorothea muttered darkly before taking a sip of her forgotten soda, chasing the phantom burn away.

“That’s one of the spiciest drinks I’ve ever had!” Caspar shouted with a grin, utterly unfazed by the Balkan they’d just partook in. Bernadetta shook her head in response, face turning red as she struggled to get the offending drink down.

“A damn mistake is what it was!” Ferdinand coughed out over the sound of Huberts quiet ‘I told you so.’ “The bartender wasn’t lying when they suggested something different.”

Rubbing the base of her throat absently, Edelgard turned her attention away from her squabbling friends as Linhardt voiced his suggestion of something not too similar to rubbing alcohol next time. Just in time to catch _her_ , emerging from the stairwell.

She seemed tall, stepping off the last step and looking around the busy room with an almost unsure look on her pretty face. A mane of ocean blue hair tumbled, no _cascaded_ over her shoulders and down her back as she prepared to move through the crowd, seemingly having found whomever she was searching for after a moment of hesitation. What looked like a grey overcoat clung snugly against her shoulders, more of an accessory than an attempt to keep warm as her arms hung close to her side inside the outer shell.

The shot glass slipped from Edelgard’s grasp in that moment as time seemed to stand still for a beat, the sound of the fragile object clattering onto the table before it rolled over the edge matched perfectly with the ending of whatever current song was playing, allowing the sound of breaking glass to ring out like a bell; blue eyes met lilac in that second, the pretty stranger having honed in on the sudden disturbance the moment it seemed to happen.

Flushing at having been caught staring, and embarrassed at the mess that she’d made in her moment of gay panic, Edelgard ducked behind Petra in order to save face and not bring further attention to herself by the woman on the stairs. Hubert, who seemingly came prepared for instances like these, was already picking up the shards of glass in a napkin, unafraid of being cut thanks to his vampiric nature.

“Are you alright there, my lady?” He asked as he returned to his full height to look at Edelgard, concern evident in his gaze. “The night is still young surely you haven’t had too much to drink yet, have you?”

“Please Hubert, there’s no need for titles.” She brushed away his concern with a small shake of her head, feeling the warmth remain on her cheeks. Was it the alcohol or was it those piercing blue eyes she couldn't shake from her head? “And besides, you know it’ll take more than just a couple shots to get us truly wasted.”

Historically it was the von Vestra’s place to act as retainers for the von Hresvelg family, ensuring that the noble family they served should need or want for nothing in their daily lives as a form of vassal, though in modern times this had been largely pushed to the wayside after their many times great ancestors fought to end the class system. Hubert, raised by his traditionalist father, still had a tendency to slip back into that formal way of speech when around Edelgard from time to time.

Taking the bundle of broken glass from her friend in hand, Edelgard moved to one of the many trash cans scattered about the room; it was only once she was there though did she notice the feeling of being watched. Trying not to seem obvious she feigned disinterest as her eyes roved about the crowd on her way back to her friends, on the lookout for anyone who may have seemed to be interested in her.

 _Remire is still considered neutral ground, so it’s not someone from a rival pack, not unless they want to start a fight. Maybe it’s one of the bartenders, they can’t be too happy about clumsy customers breaking their property all the time right?_ Content with the knowledge that it was all a misunderstanding, she rejoined her friends just as they’d decided to head out onto the dancefloor together.

* * *

Several times over the rest of the night she caught glimpses of the blue haired woman that’d held her attention earlier, and each time their eyes would lock for a second before one of the two would break away with a blush. She stood in the company of two older seeming attendees: one being a gentleman with graying hair and a monocle over his left eye, and the other a woman in a dress so tight that it seemed to threaten to burst open around the chest. In some instances though, Edelgard noted, the blue haired woman would seem puzzled by something else happening in the room and worry away at her lip for a second before turning to her companions and seemingly asking them for clarification based on the way that all three would then turn to look at whatever caught her attention.

_Maybe she’s new in town? But everyone knows what beer pong is, not to mention that attempted kegstand by that group of mountain trolls earlier. Maybe she’s just a shut in? Or a nun? But if she was a nun, then why would she be here now?_

Edelgard allowed herself these thoughts as she waited for her order of takeaway nachos to be ready, the night steadily coming to an end the closer it got to daybreak. Several of the others had already migrated back upstairs and out into the cool night air to clear their heads for the walk back to campus and their dorm rooms, only Linhardt and Dorothea had elected to stay behind and wait for their leader to return with her prize.

_It’s not likely for a nun to willingly enter a creature bar, is it? Are nuns even allowed to drink??_

Feeling like she was slipping further and further into the unlikely possibility that the pretty stranger was a nun, Edelgard breathed a sigh of relief as she hopped down from her perch on one of the barstools, her order sliding into view from the window that connected with the back kitchen.

“Order up, one plate of nachos to go!”

Graciously thanking the server and leaving an adequate tip behind, the white haired college student held the styrofoam container close to her body as she turned on her heel to regroup with her waiting packmates, eyes cast down to avoid stepping into any spilled drinks that may lay across her path. _Who still uses styrofoam these days? It’s so bad for the environ-_ “Ooff!”

A firm body collided with hers midthought, crushing the aforementioned nachos between them and getting cheese sauce over the hem of her undershirt and onto the open sides of her flannel shirt. Strong hands shot out to pull her in close as Edelgard jerked back at the sound of chips crunching together, her balance lost as she stepped back into a puddle of some mystery liquid and felt the beginnings of her fall back against her ass... But it never came.

“I apologize for bumping into you like that, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” A quiet voice said from above her head, genuine surprise evident in the speaker's tone.

Edelgard, having come to terms that she wasn’t about to be dumped back onto her ass by a jerk, looked straight up into the pale blue eyes of the woman who she’d been thinking about all night. She seemed to hide no bad intentions from the way that her brows were knitted together in concern, nor in the way that her lips pressed together, one side lifted every so slightly as a flash of teeth and fang sank into the pale pink flesh.

_Oh, so she’s a vampire then._

“I should be the one to apologize,” She managed as the smell of old books and chalk made its way to her nose, their proximity not yet registering in her mind after being taken off guard. “I’d been so intent on getting back to my friends with my nachos that I… I…”

Cutting herself off mid sentence, the smaller woman hazard a glace down to where their bodies were pressed together from when the other saved her from her fall, the crushed styrofoam container doing little at stopping the resulting spread of melted cheese and jalapenos from smearing out not only on her clothes, but on the other woman’s high waisted jeans and black turtleneck undershirt as well. Her overcoat had been spared, it seemed.

Jumping to the side with a squeak and the return of her earlier blush, Edelgard attempted to brush away some of the larger bits that clung to the blue haired woman’s clothing, though the attempt did more harm that good with the added tremble of her hand at being so close to someone new in this situation. “Oh my gosh, I can pay to have this dry cleaned for you no problem!”

“That’s uh… really nice of you but you don’t have to pay-” The blue eyed woman said as she eyed the similar stain on the white haired girl’s shirts, her arms and hands raised as smaller ones brushed as her sides.

“This is totally going to leave a stain, dammit. Here, let me see your hand.”

Unsure at what was happening, the blue haired woman, Byleth, allowed the girl with pretty lilac eyes and blush across her face to pull her hand forwards where she wrote something down with a pen she pulled from the pocket of her ripped skinny jeans. Behind the two of them, another woman’s voice called for their friend to rejoin them.

“Come on, Edelgard! You can get her phone number later!”

Blushing herself at the implications, Byleth turned her attentions back to the girl, Edelgard most likely, just in time to catch her capping off her pen and tucking a stray strand of errant white hair behind her ear.

“H-here! I’m gay…! I mean I’m Edelgard! Text me your name and we can go out… I mean I’ll have your clothes taken out to the dry cleaners!” Blushing from the tips of her ears down the base of her throat, Edelgard dashed away from Byleth towards a couple of similar looking aged people before tugging the two of them up the stairs and out of sight just seconds later.

Hastily written on the palm of her hand was the name ‘Edelgard’ following a series of numbers that Byleth took to mean was her personal phone number. Feeling the adrenaline settle after that whirlwind encounter with the woman she’d been noticing all night, the vampire turned her gaze back to the no longer empty stairwell as other party goers left for the night as well.

“I don’t have a phone.” Byleth said quietly to herself, closing her fist and holding it close to her body.

* * *

A/N: That's so much if you've made it this far down! Some of you may be wondering why I spent so much time describing a bar, and it's because it's actually based on one that my friends and I would visit pretty frequently before COVID hit! While it didn't have a secret underground area for drinking and partying, it did have a secret room behind a bookcase that was only accessible after pulling on a specific book! Let me know what you think about the story!


	2. We are the wildest ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quality bonding time with the pack! Just a bunch of nerds passing around the one brain cell they all collectively share.

Early morning sunlight streamed out from open windows as a soft breeze ruffled parted curtains, the air already warmed as June steadily came to a close. Things were not so still inside the bedroom, however, not on this particular day anyway.

“Dorothea! Will you _hurry up_?!” Edelgard punctuated each word with a pound of her fist against the wooden bathroom door that the two shared in their dorm. “I swear to Sothis herself, you’d better not have used all the hot water _again_ , so help me god!”

More pounding on the door by the tiny woman, only this time the sound was accompanied by the musical laughter created by the other woman behind the locked door. Frustrated, and not willing to incur another noise complaint for the semester, Edelgard crossed the bedroom again and sat heavily on her bed. Resting her elbows on her knees for a second, the student looked over at her nightstand from the corner of her eye to where her charging cell phone lay undisturbed, and quiet.

It’d been nearly a week since she’d given that beautiful woman at the Blackthorn her phone number, a week since she’d embarrassed herself over a plate of nachos and just a few too many drinks on her birthday. It’d been a week and yet, Edelgard had yet to receive so much as a ‘hello’ from someone not in her contact list. With a sigh she fell back against her bed, bouncing once as she settled back against her pillows.

Blindly reaching out, a pale hand thumped across the surface of the nightstand once, twice, a third time before coming to close around the phone. Pulling the device closer and unlocking it with a swipe of her thumb, lilac eyes took in the distinct lack of notifications before sliding shut for just a moment.

_Why are you so hung up about this lady, anyways? We don’t even know if she’s into other women like that in the first place, and besides, it’s not like we haven’t been ghosted before._

Edelgard sighed to herself, kicking her feet out over the edge of the bed as her fingers tapped senselessly over the back cover of her phone. Acceptance washed over the woman's body as she resolved to put the accident of their meeting behind her, though a small part of her still hoped that the blue haired woman would reach out and make contact.

Quiet settled on the still morning as the sound of running water turned off from the direction of the shared bathroom.

* * *

The same was not to be said about inside the local Denny’s, however.

Gathered around one of the larger tables in the restaurant, the Black Eagle pack was loud and boisterous as they talked over and amongst themselves while waiting for their orders to be brought out. Energized by the coming full moon and forecasted clear weather for the upcoming week, the table was a hive of activity as each member reaffirmed their bonds for each other. 

While not werewolves themselves, Hubert and Dorothea were not spared from the infectious mood that their packmates radiated like the warmth of the afternoon sun in summer. 

“Do you know where we’d be heading out next, Edie?” Dorothea asked from her spot between Petra and Caspar, the straw of her strawberry banana smoothie pressed against her lips.

Leaning back from her seat at the head of the table to pull her cell phone from her pocket, Edelgard quickly unlocked the device and pulled up a screenshot from Google Maps. “I was thinking of staying close to the mountains this time around since we’ve been spending the last few months around Varley and Bergliez. At least until the semester ends and we can venture further out across the territory.”

Bernadetta squeaked at the mention of her name and ducked her head slightly as Edelgard nodded her thanks to the purple haired woman, her hands pressed close together as she shifted to hide herself from view around Hubert’s taller form.

“I’d suggested a change of scenery after Linhardt fell into that patch of cactus he’d been examining with Caspar,” Hubert said, adjusting his sunglasses due to the bright mid morning light.

“That was one time!” Caspar barked from his side of the table, face flushed in slight embarrassment as his palms slapped down on the table, rattling his glass of water. “We got him out safely enough!”

“There was also the time with the wild coyotes in the area.” Ferdinand added, his head turned to the side as he kept an eye out for a passing waitress to refill his coffee.

“They knew we were there!”

“And also the rattlesnakes.” Hubert concluded, as if going through a list of incidents in his mind.

At a loss for words Caspar huffed and crossed his arms, looking anywhere but at his friends around him. On the opposite end of the table from Edelgard, Linhardt was asleep on his folded arms, unaware of the conversations being held around him.

The table erupted into laughter, only stopping when a team of waiters surrounded the table to lay out what felt like more than enough food for a party twice the size as the one seated. Plates and bowls were passed around the table to those who’d requested them, drinks were topped off with a twist of the hand, silverware was handed out freely, and Linhardt was shaken from his nap.

Everyone, save for Hubert who only occasionally sipped at his coffee, was quiet as they descended on their meals.

Cutting into her french toast and eggs, Edelgard couldn't stop from flicking her lilac colored gaze over to where her phone sat on the table. Shaking her head and remembering her resolution to forget about the woman from the bar, she popped a syrup soaked slice into her mouth and resisted the temptation to check for any notifications.

Dorothea, on the other hand, was watching with rapt attention as Edelgard ate, her free hand inching closer to her phone several times before completely closing around it. The brunette raised an eyebrow and felt a knowing smile spread on her face as she looked on at her friend, her omelette forgotten in the moment.

“Why do you keep checking your phone, Edie?” She finally teased after having watched Edelgard lock the screen once again, disappointment evident on her face. “Got a hot date lined up after breakfast or something?”

Edelgard stiffened at having been caught, a faint blush turned her ears red as her eyes met Dorothea’s. Mouth opening and closing tightly, the white haired woman had a hard time trying to defend herself.

“How can a date be ‘hot’?” Petra questioned, her brows furrowing as she looked down at what remained of her steak and eggs breakfast. “Numbers do not have temperature, do they not?”

“She means going on a date with an attractive person,” Linhardt corrected gently from behind his raised cup of hot chocolate, eyes sliding closed with every passing second.

Hubert turned to look at Edelgard, his eyes hidden but the slight downturn of his mouth spoke what his eyes couldn't convey. “I was not aware that you’d been conversing with someone in that regard, Edelgard. I’ll need to know their name so I can do a background check on them before the relationship continues.”

“That’s great if you do, Edelgard!” Ferdinand congratulated, smacking the table with an open palm. “After that thing with Hilda I’d been afraid that you’d never get back out there again!”

“Have we met them before?” Bernadetta asked shyly, her voice barely more than a whisper when compared to the others.

“You’ll have to bring them around so we can be properly introduced.” Dorothea giggled behind her hand, secretly pleased at the chaos she’d unleashed.

“There will be no introducing anyone!” Edelgard all but snapped out, her ears aflame and burning as the blush spread out across her cheeks and nose. “I still haven’t gotten a text back, much less a chance to know her name after stumbling into her.”

“What do you mean ‘stumbled into her’?” Hubert asked at the same time that Ferdinand said, “Well, what does she look like? Maybe we know her!”

Tapping out a pattern on the table with her fingers, Edelgard bit her lip as she thought back to the night at the Blackthorn and the woman with the blue eyes.

“She was tall,” Edelgard recalled, bringing her hand up a foot or so above her head. “Blue eyes, and even darker blue hair; if I hadn’t seen her fangs then I would have thought she was a werewolf from how fluffy it seemed.”

“What else do you know about her?” Hubert muttered, scribbling details onto a spare napkin in his haste to run a background check on Edelgard’s mystery woman.

“Well…” Edelgard blush deepened as she rubbed the back of her neck and looked off to the side, almost embarrassed at what she was going to say next. “She looked out of place at the Blackthorn, like she’d never gotten out before.”

“Go on,” Dorothea encouraged, her eyes dancing with mirth the longer this played out, already familiar with this story from when Edelgard first told her the night after it had happened. “Any little detail helps!”

“I thought that she might have been a nun, in the moment.” Edelgard confessed finally, shrugging as it sounded off even to her own ears. “In my defense, she was with two older individuals so it wasn’t that much of a stretch at the time.”

“A nun…” Ferdinand said slowly as he shared a glance with Hubert over the top of Bernadetta’s head. Dorothea’s peals of muffled laughter cut through the air, only silenced when Edelgard threw a bundled up napkin at the siren’s face.

“Anon?” Petra asked, looking at the dictionary app on her phone for clarification. “You thought they would be little?”

“A nun is a woman who lives in the church, Petra.” Edelgard explained as she dragged her hands down her face, wishing she hadn’t included that bit of information in her description. “I didn’t honestly think that.”

“That almost sounds like Dr. Eisner,” Caspar commented idly as he reached out and snagged an abandoned slice of bacon off Linhardt’s plate. “Did she have a grey coat over her shoulders that seemed too long for her arms?”

Shocked at how conversational Caspar’s tone was, Edelgard, lowering her hands to stare at the blue haired man, thought back to the night at the Blackthorn and the grey coat in question. Remembering that the woman, _Dr. Eisner_ , had kept her arms tucked away inside the coat and not in the sleeves themselves, Edelgard figured it could have been possible that the garment had been too large for its owner.

“I suppose it would have been,” She agreed, excitement bubbling in her gut and raising the pitch of her voice. “how in the world do you know her, Caspar?”

“That’s easy,” He said as the rest of the Black Eagles stared at him as well. “She’s my history professor.”

* * *

  
Excitement rolled like a warm ball in the pit of Edelgard’s stomach at the thought of finally, _finally!_ , having a name to go with those blue eyes she saw in her dreams nearly every night. The small woman was almost bouncing as she walked, her mood greatly improved on the drive to the local camping shop from the Denny’s.

Testing out the quality and warmth guides for several different sleeping bags, Edelgard thought back to her conversation with Caspar as the two made their way out of the restaurant after settling the bill.

_“I can totally introduce you two again, El!” He’d said with a grin, clapping her on the back a few times. “She’s really cool once you get to know her, and I have her class again on Tuesday.”_

_“Caspar! You can’t ask her while she’s working, that’s disrespectful!” Stopping for a moment, Edelgard pressed the back of her hand against her chin. “And almost borderline stalking on my part! We can’t go through with this plan.”_

_“I’ll be real casual about it, don’t worry!”_

Back in the land of the living, Edelgard was surprised to find herself at the end of the sleeping bags aisle, a colder weather bag clutch tightly in her hands. While not the highest point in all of the country of Fódlan, the Oghma mountain range had some of the highest points one could get without venturing out to the east towards Fódlan’s Throat and the Almyran border of Leicester. Though the university of Garreg Mach and it’s surrounding city could be found nestled at the base of the mountain and was no stranger to snow in the winter months, nights spent on the northern end of the mountain and its valleys below would often times be much colder than the arid county of Varley, or the warmer grasslands of Bergliez, even in the summer.

Content that she wouldn't freeze in a freak chill while out in the valleys, and also prepared for when true winter came to the country, Edelgard grabbed several more of the same bag and threw them into her shopping cart before going off to find her friends again.

“Not all of us are content to eat nothing but _biscuits and gravy_ for an entire weekend, Caspar.” Dorothea could be heard saying from a few aisles away.

“Come on, Dorothea! It’s not like we won’t have anything else to eat while we’re out there.”

Turning the corner and entering the food section of the camping store, Edelgard came face to face with the sight of her two friends in question seemingly arguing over what already looked like a generous cache of backpack ready meals.

“Dorothea can’t eat the same things we do while out on a run, Caspar.” Edelgard said as she checked through the meals that the two had been assigned to gather. Wincing at the amount of chilies and baked bean options she found, she handed a few back before straightening up again. “It’s only fair that she can pick what she likes when we’ll be filling up on deer, anyways.”

Examining a list she pulled from her pocket, she double checked between the two carts to see if they’d missed anything.

  * ~~Whetstone for knife sharpening~~
  * Winter sleeping bags (can never be too prepared)
  * ~~Replacement compass for Linhardt~~
  * ~~Extra blood bags for Hubert~~
  * Camp food for everyone else
  * ~~Bug spray~~



“Alright, so it looks like we have everything that we need for now.” Edelgard said while crossing out the last two items on her list and returning the paper and pen to her pocket. “Let’s meet up with everyone else and head back to campus.”

“I think I saw Petra and Ferdinand in the hunting knives section, we can try looking there first.” Caspar offered, rolling the cart forward with a push of his foot.

“The others aren't likely to be far.” Dorothea agreed.

Turning the cart around and heading towards the other side of the store at a brisk pace, Edelgard tossed a look over her shoulder. “Then that’s where we’ll be checking first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While looking at a map of Fódlan for this chapter I've grown to like the idea that the county of Varley is arid and more desert like because it sits in the shadows of the Oghma mountains, so it doesn't get as much rainfall as it's neighbor Bergliez does. On the same hand, Faerghus gets lots of rain and snow when compared to the more south eastern territory of Adrestia. Thanks for coming to my TED talk, let me know if you see any glaring misspellings or typos! See y'all in the next chapter!


End file.
